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(Transmission Control Protocol) and (Internet Protocol) -
Microsoft Windows was first launched in 1985 as a graphical operating system built on MS-DOS. This created an outlet for social media to exist. -
Internet relay chats started becoming popular, which allowed people to communicate with instant messages on discussion forums -
A man named Justin Hall created the first blog on Links.net where he would organize his own thoughts and writings, though the term 'blog' was not officially used yet. -
AOL introduces a way for its users to talk to each other in real time -
The first known social media called Six Degrees was founded, which allowed people to connect with others through mutual acquaintances. Though this only lasted for a few years -
Google was officially launched, creating a popular search engine that is still widely used today. It also serves as a popular outlet for finding social media websites and profiles -
A competitor to Six Degrees was released called Friendster, allowing people to connect with others, message, post pictures and videos, and even leave comments -
The early 2000's started the surge in social media platforms, with new competitors being introduced frequently. Ranging from sites like LinkedIn where people can search for jobs to YouTube where people can upload original video content. -
YouTube introduced partnership opportunities for its creators. This allowed people to earn money while uploading their content on the platform. -
The most popular smartphone was first introduced at this time, this allowed access to social media at the tip of people's fingers -
Hashtags were first invented on Twitter at this time, still used today for people to directly find content on a certain topic all in one place -
Facebook officially overtook Myspace as being the most popular social media platform -
Instagram was introduced as another photo and video sharing platform, eventually becoming the most downloaded social media app. Snapchat also introduced the idea of pictures and videos only being seen temporarily before disappearing. -
A new way to share videos was created with Vine, only allowing 6-second-long videos. This caused users to have to get creative in how to garner attention to their profiles. -
Instagram introduced stories, taking a page from Snapchat's book and using it to their own advantage. Facebook later adopted the same feature. -
Around the cycle of the 2016 Presidential election, the idea that mainstream news on TV as well as social media was biased and deceiving viewers to push their own narrative started to spread. Many people started to distrust what they saw on the internet. -
TikTok was later introduced, having a similar idea that Vine had, only this time it stuck around and adapted to keep their users. This including extending video lengths so creators had more freedom. -
Facebook was exposed for collecting its user's data without their consent, leading to them going on trial. This was one of the main events causing the public to become concerned about their data on social media -
Social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok started to introduce online stores within their apps that allows its users to sell and market their own products -
Billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter and later changed it to the name of 'X.' He added paid verification, public impressions on posts, and a new algorithm -
After multiple years of the U.S. government attempting to ban TikTok due to 'national security risks' the app went dark for a short period before coming back after a deadline extension was ordered by the incoming president, Donald Trump. Though, the app still hangs in the balance as this deadline extension is only temporary.